From: "Strong, Lee" <StrongL at MTMC.ARMY.MIL>
To: "'WSFA members'" <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: And now West Virginia, was: Texas, more than you thoug
	ht
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 11:59:17 -0500
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

	The secession of West Virginia from Virginia was approved by the
loyal government of the state of Virginia meeting in Alexandria, VA.  After
the War, the reunited state of Virginia offered to take West Virginia back,
the West Virginians declined, and Virginia dropped the issue.
	The Confederate attitude towards secession was extremely
inconsistent and self serving -- basically that they were allowed to secede
from the United States but that no one was allowed to secede from them.
Jones County, Mississippi and another county in Alabama attempted to secede
from their respective states, and the Confederate state governments sent
their armies in to suppress the secessions.  They never caught the leader of
the Jones Country secession and Mississippians still joke about "Jones Free
State."  In addition, the Southern States approved James Buchanan's military
suppression of Mormon separtism in 1858 and disapproved of the Hartford
Convention during the War of 1812.  (See Harry Turtledove's Great War
series.)  And, of course, the Southern States demanded a nationwide Fugitive
Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850.  We therefore see that, when
the shoe was on the other foot, the Confederates were as anti-secession as
Abraham Lincoln, but without Lincoln's legal, constitutional and moral
integrity.

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Walsh [mailto:MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 11:09 AM
To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Subject: [WSFA] And now West Virginia, was: Texas, more than you thought

U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 3:
"New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new =
states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other =
state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or =
parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states =
concerned as well as of the Congress."

So . . . West Virginia?  Ok, it was wartime and the legislature of =
Virginia really wasn't in a position to object . . .

mjw

>>> StrongL at MTMC.ARMY.MIL 04/03/02 10:40AM >>>
	Ah, yes, one of my favorite bits of US trivia.  Any state can
subdivide with the consent of Congress, but Texas is the only case where
Congress gave its approval in advance.  A 1970s mainstream novel had Texas
subdividing in order to increase its political power in the Senate.  And =
one
of the oddest master's theses that I ever read listed the various =
proposals
to subdivide Texas as of 1923 complete with maps and proposed names.  "The
chair recognizes the lady from the great state of Zavala, followed by the
gentlemen from Jacinto, Jefferson and Lincoln."

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Walsh [mailto:MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 6:28 PM
To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Subject: [WSFA] Texas, more than you thought

The nattering about the Civil War & succession brought to mind one of the =
=
curious provisions of the Republic of Texas being Annexed into the Union

Joint Resolution of the Congress of the United States, March 1, 1845

"2. And be it further resolved, That the foregoing consent of Congress is =
=
given upon the following conditions, and with the following guarantees, to =
=
wit:  . . .

Third- New states, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in =
=
addition to said state of Texas, and having sufficient population, may =
hereafter, by the consent of said state, be formed out of the territory =
=
thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the =
=
federal constitution."

(see: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/texan01.htm , & more, google on =
=
"states of convenient size")

mjw